www.deadharddrive.com

[lunchboxes]

You always have a choice.


1. Find a Data recovery company to help you

Up from several hundred US$ (I think)

Merit: You worry about nothing, just pay the cash.
Demerit: Expensive

2. DIY

Assuming that you know which part of Harddisk goes wrong.
And do enough research.

Find an idential Harddisk
If you are lucky enough to find an donor

A second hand Harddisk of 80G will cost you up from US$50
if someone charge you a second hand 400G or 500G harddisk for US$200
it won't surprise me.

Merit: Cheaper
Demerit: You need to have knowledge about Harddisk
Risky
It is not that easy to find an identical Harddisk. You need luck.
You need to googling many websites, wasting your time.
Even you replace a component doesn't gurantee you can bring your harddisk alive.


A. The platter part (the media)

I think you can do nothing about it. You need to ask the Professional.

B. The motor part
Again, the motor is mounted on the chasis of the Harddisk
I think you can not replace the motor.
You need an identical Harddrive and do the "platter SWAP"

platter SWAP
i) single platter
Yes, you can do it yourself inside a clean plactic box.
The clean room theory is right but nobody has a clean room in his house.
A clean environment should be enough, but still it is risky.
If you get dust on the platter, all data gone.

ii) multi-platter (cyclinder)
Yes and No
you need to have a special tool to pick up the platter
You can not do it without using a tool.

C. The arm part, pre-amp, head damage.
You can do the arm swap, but you must be very careful
You also need a special tool which has a strong magnet to help you to pull the arms out
It is also a high risk move.

D. PCB SWAP

Yes, you can do it yourself
but mostly people won't sell you PCB alone.
If you want to borrow it form somebody, or loan from somebody,just forget about it,
No one, I can said, will lent you.

Merit: cheaper
Less risky
Demerit: Hard to find the right donor with right firmware.

i) ROM SWAP

Merit: more easy to find donor
Demerit: You need to shoulder out the FLASH ROM clip
and put it to the donor, it requires skill.




If you spend 1 week or 1 month to find a right harddisk
you are the lucky guy.
If you spend half a year to find a right harddisk
I think it is quite normal.

[hddstudio]

Well, I can't agree more....
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